The Freeman
'Hope is a slave; Despair is a freeman.'
A VAGABOND between the East and West,
Careless I greet the scourging and the rod;
I fear no terror any man may bring,
Nor any god.
The clankless chains that bound me I have rent,
No more a slave to Hope I cringe or cry;
Captives to Fate men rear their prison walls,
But free am I.
I tread where arrows press upon my path,
I smile to see the danger and the dart;
My breast is bared to meet the slings of Hate,
But not my heart.
I face the thunder and I face the rain,
I lift my head, defiance far I fling, --
My feet are set, I face the autumn as
I face the spring.
Around me on the battlefields of life,
I see men fight and fail and crouch in prayer;
Aloft I stand unfettered, for I know
The freedom of despair.
poem by Ellen Glasgow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Face In The Sun
its ok to be lonely
its ok, still waiting for
well its ok to feel you're the only
like a loaded gun just bound to explode
just like the story goes
if you been raised
to believe in your soul
i'm sure you'll find your face
face in the sun
face in the sun
face in the sun
well its ok to be loved with
the way the sun shines above your face
well its ok if you've had enough of this
a lack of light been around for days
inside thinking of sunsets
leaving behind
i hope i find my face
face in the sun
face in the sun
face in the sun
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
face in the sun
face in the sun
face in the sun
face in the sun
i hope you find it
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
i, i, i, i, i, i
song performed by by Simple Minds
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Eliza Harris
Like a fawn from the arrow, startled and wild,
A woman swept by us, bearing a child;
In her eye was the night of a settled despair,
And her brow was o'ershaded with anguish and care.
She was nearing the river—in reaching the brink,
She heeded no danger, she paused not to think!
For she is a mother—her child is a slave—
And she'll give him his freedom, or find him a grave!
'Twas a vision to haunt us, that innocent face—
So pale in its aspect, so fair in its grace;
As the tramp of the horse and the bay of the hound,
With the fetters that gall, were trailing the ground!
She was nerved by despair, and strengthen'd by woe,
As she leap'd o'er the chasms that yawn'd from below;
Death howl'd in the tempest, and rav'd in the blast,
But she heard not the sound till the danger was past.
Oh! how shall I speak of my proud country's shame?
Of the stains on her glory, how give them their name?
How say that her banner in mockery waves—
Her "star-spangled banner"—o'er millions of slaves?
How say that the lawless may torture and chase
A woman whose crime is the hue of her face?
How the depths of forest may echo around
With the shrieks of despair, and the bay of the hound?
With her step on the ice, and her arm on her child,
The danger was fearful, the pathway was wild;
But, aided by Heaven, she gained a free shore,
Where the friends of humanity open'd their door.
So fragile and lovely, so fearfully pale,
Like a lily that bends to the breath of the gale,
Save the heave of her breast, and the sway of her hair,
You'd have thought her a statue of fear and despair.
In agony close to her bosom she press'd
The life of her heart, the child of her breast:—
Oh! love from its tenderness gathering might,
Had strengthen'd her soul for the dangers of flight.
But she's free!—yes, free from the land where the slave
From the hand of oppression must rest in the grave;
Where bondage and torture, where scourges and chains
Have plac'd on our banner indelible stains.
The bloodhounds have miss'd the scent of her way;
The hunter is rifled and foil'd of his prey;
Fierce jargon and cursing, with clanking of chains,
Make sounds of strange discord on Liberty's plains.
With the rapture of love and fullness of bliss,
She plac'd on his brow a mother's fond kiss:—
Oh! poverty, danger and death she can brave,
For the child of her love is no longer a slave!
poem by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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De Bat (Fly In My Face)
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well I hope de bat don't come out and fly in me face tonight
Well I come home from a party
And I'm feelin' a little spaced
And I walk on in the kitchen and
A bat fly in me face
Well de bat come down the chimney
You see he wait in the fireplace
When he hear that I'm getting a little snack
De bat fly in me face
(Chorus)
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well I hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
De bat he rat got wings
All the children know that
What I need to know from the lord
Is how you get de wings on the cat
They say a bat's got radar
And he can fly through fan
But what I am afraid of is
That he got another plan
To fly in me face
Fly in me face
(Chorus)
Well I hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
Fly in me face
One thing I forgot to tell you about the human race
Everybody get a little upset when a bat fly in they face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well I hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
song performed by by Carly Simon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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De Bat
(carly simon)
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well i hope de bat don't come out and fly in me face tonight
Well i come home from a party
And i'm feelin' a little spaced
And i walk on in the kitchen and
A bat fly in me face
Well de bat come down the chimney
You see he wait in the fireplace
When he hear that i'm getting a little snack
De bat fly in me face
(chorus)
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well i hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
De bat he rat got wings
All the children know that
What i need to know from the lord
Is how you get de wings on the cat
They say a bat's got radar
And he can fly through fan
But what i am afraid of is
That he got another plan
To fly in me face
Fly in me face
(chorus)
Well i hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
Fly in me face
One thing i forgot to tell you about the human race
Everybody get a little upset when a bat fly in they face
Fly in me face
Fly in me face
Well i hope de bat he don't come out
And fly in me face tonight
song performed by by Carly Simon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Face To Face
We never talk to one another
We just disagree
Im the one who runs for cover
And you turn your back on me
They say nothings gonna last forever
But some things are worth fighting for
Yeah, well love could bring us back together
But love dont come round here no more
The words unspoken in the night
Locked away in my heart
And Im feeling out of place
But if love is the key
Let it open the door
So well be standing -- face to face
You never want to see me face to face
Think it over
Face to face
If only it could be just face to face
Baby you and me
Face to face
I may be better off without it
I cant go on this way
Time has come to talk about it
This is our judgement day
You know we swore it would last forever
Always felt so sure it would
But its looking like now or never
Time to turn a bad thing into good
The words that echo in the night
Theyre fading away
And theyre gone without a trace
Now its up to you and me
Lets open the door
And meet each other -- face to face
Its time we saw each other face to face
To talk it over
Face to face
You know its gotta be just face to face
Baby you and me
Face to face
We gotta see each other -- face to face
And talk about it
Face to face
Hope it aint too late to meet face to face
Just you and me
(solo)
Face to face
Its time we saw each other face to face
To talk it over
Face to face
You know its gotta be just face to face
Baby you and me
Face to face
We gotta see each other
Face to face
And talk about it
Face to face
I hope it aint too late to meet
Face to face
Dont turn your back on me
Face to face
Its time we saw each other
Face to face
To talk it over
song performed by by Foreigner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Wall
On the wall hangs a face, not a face of love or hate.
Not a face of expectancy hope or curiosity.
Not a face of hurt, sadness or anger.
Not a face of colour, shadows or darkness.
Not a face of life or death, but just a face, a hanging face.
poem by Jill Laughlin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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See it Through
When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!
Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whate'er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!
poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Shadows of Despair
When colours are all grey and black
When shining lights turn gloomy and dark
When hope for now and the future
Is switched off by the violence of the past
Then the focal point on life's meaning
Grows dim to the eye of the beholder.
How necessary it is to rise up from despair
To see the blinding, dazzling colours and lights
To face the future with courage and not fear
To wrestle with pain and accept it is there
To see meaning in all that's happening
To lift up the face of despair as part of life.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stand Tall
Men are efficient to calls of danger
so the 'd speak of spiritual courage;
order needs one fearless arranger,
to tame randomness, pain to assuage.
Hope is the gift of a dreamer brave,
that stares at horizons open minded,
despair is the cause a mental slave
corresponds with futility, one sided.
If you are strong you 'll stand alone,
upon life's threshold to sky ascend,
your podium will be a gun smoke throne,
a dropping red drop, pain to impend.
There you 'll see all of your friends,
those that left to forthward years,
and smile to ghosts as prowess sends
a windy etiquette to wipe your tears.
There you will learn to stand tall;
to face solitude with smiling eyes;
and travel further to a sun scape thrall,
where dreams lift in a lonesome rise.
poem by Giorgio Veneto
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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(V – 1988) Fighting Fate
Oh, things out of control we call real fate
For factors far unknown too decide our state!
But things there are we must not see as mere fate;
Such things if controlled can oh, alter our state!
No thunder or tyrant is ever such fate
If faced with courage and soon held to checkmate!
Oh, thou art the architect of thy own fate!
So fight well with will and thus safeguard thy state!
At times we may fall to some strange, cruel fate;
By them should never our will still abate!
With arrows of resolve and faith, fight thy fate!
Oh, give no space ever to stand or to wait!
So bow not or falter before any fate;
Oh, fear and despair will thy fate aggravate!
Grim panic and anguish will strengthen our fate;
They make us, oh, lick a time unduly late!
So well in advance to, oh, face any fate
Thou equip thyself and thus secure thy state!
Challenges of life are challenges of fate –
So meeting them well, oh, means living life great!
But Don't Despair
Despair, if you must –
But how's it going to pull you through?
Despair, when you trust
Naught since then there's naught to do.
Despair, should you thrust
Aside your pride, your self-esteem.
And so despair, if it's dust,
The only substance that you deem.
Despair, when a gust
Of slightly breeze can break your stance.
And do despair, when lust
Is your interpretation of romance.
But don't despair, if you can care
About the plight of any other being.
And you can focus on the help,
Support, and altruistic further actions
For the seeing. Be believing,
As despair will start receding
All around – simply since you found
A way to steer you clear
From this: the very cause of your despair!
So give to others; give them all a helping lift:
Despair, you'll find will disappear –
And that has got to be a well-deserved
And saintly gift!
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2009
Rain of despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
poem by Mark R Slaughter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Past Life
When you look down upon my face;
And you see the sadness and also the disgrace,
Please remember, they were not always there;
But think of me in your thoughts and your prayer.
As it was not really that long ago;
When happiness and joy in my face did show,
When love and peace had also occupied my heart;
But then from me, those emotions did part.
A smile and a laugh was the first to leave;
Then next were my dreams and the need to believe,
My feelings and words of compassion would disappear;
Then stronger grew my hate, and also my fear.
The world that I knew it was no longer my friend;
The hope that I had I would no longer send,
My life and my home it became a different place;
And it is all there when you look down, upon my face.
poem by Randy McClave
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Fear Itself
Does fear hold us back
From dreams unfulfilled
Love allowed to drift away
Passions allowed to wither
Does fear envelop us
Will we face it all our life
Do we stand behind the curtain of fear
Afraid to audition hope
Fear need not be our anchor
Taking us down
It can steady our bow
Root us to steady growth
Fear restrains us
From escaping the thorns of pain
It misdirects prayer to an unknown
A misbelief wrapped like a mask
Obscuring visions of the future
Though fear may be a curse
It’s a confrontation we must make
Face to face, we cannot break
Let it provide the edge
That from failure comes new challenges
Sweep fear under the rug
So we may tread lightly on its face
Knowing its claws are ready to lure us
Hence we look back for its approach
Success will defeat fear every time
But we must keep the weed killer handy
Fear grows at every concrete corner
And no tombstone can hold it back
So we fight fear as an ever long battle
As we struggle daily to win the war
poem by Alfred Ramos
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Sonnet XXVI: I Ever Love
To Despair
I ever love where never hope appears,
Yet hope draws on my never-hoping care,
And my life's hope would die, but for despair;
My never-certain joy breeds ever-certain fears;
Uncertain dread gives wings unto my hope,
Yet my hope's wings are laden so with fear
As they cannot ascend to my hope's sphere;
Though fear gives them more than a heav'nly scope,
Yet this large room is bounded with despair;
So my love is still fetter'd with vain hope,
And liberty deprives him of his scope,
And thus am I imprison'd in the air.
Then, sweet despair, awhile hold up thy head,
Or all my hope for sorrow will be dead.
poem by Michael Drayton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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O, Pity The Slave Mother
I pity the slave mother, careworn and weary,
Who sighs as she presses her babe to her breast;
I lament her sad fate, all so hopeless and dreary,
I lament for her woes, and her wrongs unredressed.
O who can imagine her heart's deep emotion,
As she thinks of her children about to be sold;
You may picture the bounds of the rock-girdled ocean,
But the grief of that mother can never be known.
The mildew of slavery has blighted each blossom,
That ever has bloomed in her path-way below;
It has froze every fountain that gushed in her bosom,
And chilled her heart's verdure with pitiless woe;
Her parents, her kindred, all crushed by oppression;
Her husband still doomed in its desert to stay;
No arm to protect from the tyrant's aggression-
She must weep as she treads on her desolate way.
O, slave mother, hope! see-the nation is shaking!
The arm of the Lord is awake to thy wrong!
The slave-holder's heart now with terror is quaking,
Salvation and Mercy to Heaven belong!
Rejoice, O rejoice! for the child thou art rearing,
May one day lift up its unmanacled form,
While hope, to thy heart, like the rain-bow so cheering,
Is born, like the rain-bow, 'mid tempest and storm.
poem by Anonymous Americas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Words.... (Poetry Itself)
words do not heal the broken hearted,
words do not end wars.
words do not change the face of indifference,
words do not impress god!
words do not feed the hungry,
nor set the captives free.
words do not give shelter to the homeless,
or hope to those ridden with despair.
words do not stop discrimination,
words do not bring justice.
words do not bring forgiveness,
nor do they bring understanding...
words do not fill the empty,
nor erase the scars of love...
words do not define dialogue!
it is only then,
the hands and feet of the human heart...
and poetry itself is nothing more,
than the action of involved compassion!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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__________a Dedication To You___________
__________A DEDICATION TO YOU___________
I wanna see your eyes roll through the back of your head,
I will never be fine until the day you are dead,
Your love is wilted and weathered,
Your death's my guilty pleasure,
Yet i can never pull the trigger...
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...
I'll tie you to the bed and do with you as i please,
But everything i do is just a tease,
We will betray our demons,
And tonight i'll see your anguish...
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...
Your eyes close to me,
Your face is red and bleeding,
Your smile is the most relieving,
Yet i can't stand to be near you...
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...
poem by Poetic Crisis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Terminal Silhouette
I know you not and in no way
I want to lose starry illusions
With such a face in worst confusion
People are loyal to a ray.
All that the fate has marked for grave
Have such closed-off face instead.
You are a page that was not read
And no, you will not be a slave.
A slave with such a face? Oh no!
There is no error here by chance.
Your slender figure and your glance
Will be secret to many, I know.
A heavy bracelet of your hair
Under the thrown-over scarf
(You'd do with guitar or a harp)
And your pale face, as pale as air.
I know you not. And possibly
You're kind and moderate like all.
Maybe! May these be ravings all!
For only raving ones may be!
Perhaps the day is not so far
When I will fathom what's unseemly…
But this to err - it is so relieving!
It is so easy yet to err!
Touching the scarf with a light hand,
There where the whistles shrilly blow.
This is the you that I will know
Where you just like a riddle stand.
poem by Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Face To Face
Anderson/squire/howe/white/sherwood/khoroshev
Here we are trying to mend all the broken hearts
In a world where the pain is the fear
Aint no doubt theres a method to madness here
Set your clock to the start of a brand new year
Shine your heart to the universe and get the news
Not alone never have been, never will be
See the truth, not to mention the promise made
See them all, see them all high on judar rhythm
We began at the very first spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
Shake me up, take me up
Face to face
Lift me up, shake me up
Face to face
Make me real, make me longing to see you smile
Shall we dancing, shall we be the dancing down under
In this life of lives, are we ready to take the chance
Moving to the rhythm, here at last to
Believe
To believe
We began at the first real spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
We began at the first real spring - ya
We will sing at the very first spring - ya
We began at the first real spring
We will sing at the very first spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
We began at the first real spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
Shake it up, take me up
Face to face
Face to face
Face to face
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Face To Face
Anderson/squire/howe/white/sherwood/khoroshev
Here we are trying to mend all the broken hearts
In a world where the pain is the fear
Aint no doubt theres a method to madness here
Set your clock to the start of a brand new year
Shine your heart to the universe and get the news
Not alone never have been, never will be
See the truth, not to mention the promise made
See them all, see them all high on judar rhythm
We began at the very first spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
Shake me up, take me up
Face to face
Lift me up, shake me up
Face to face
Make me real, make me longing to see you smile
Shall we dancing, shall we be the dancing down under
In this life of lives, are we ready to take the chance
Moving to the rhythm, here at last to
Believe
To believe
We began at the first real spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
We began at the first real spring - ya
We will sing at the very first spring - ya
We began at the first real spring
We will sing at the very first spring
How the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
We began at the first real spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
We will sing at the very first spring
That the promise will come when the promise is made
Promise is made, promise is made
Shake it up, take me up
Face to face
Face to face
Face to face
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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